Today, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark celebrates her 50th birthday. Originally, a gala banquet was scheduled to take place last night to mark the occasion, but unfortunately, it was canceled. But the royals have still made several appearances connected with Mary’s milestone birthday, and we’ve gotten to see a few lovely jewels in the process. Here’s a look at a few highlights.
On Monday, January 31, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary made a visit to Kolding, where they opened a new exhibition, “Mary and the Crown Princesses,” at Koldinghus.
During the exhibition opening, the museum paid tribute to the crown princess, who was supported by several other family members—Princess Benedikte, Count Ingolf, and Count Sussie—during the event.
The exhibition is dedicated to the lives of five of Denmark’s crown princesses: Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel, Princess Lovisa of Sweden, Duchess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Princess Ingrid of Sweden, and Mary Elizabeth Donaldson. The Koldinghus website explains the exhibition’s central themes: “what it means to be a crown princess: what is expected, how have her predecessors approached the task, and how does one prepare for ultimately becoming queen and taking on a new role?”
The exhibition includes numerous objects related to Mary and the other crown princesses. Undoubtedly, one of the highlights is the Danish Ruby Parure, which has been worn by four of the women featured (Lovisa, Alexandrine, Ingrid, and Mary). The website for the exhibition features outstanding press photos of the set. Here’s the tiara, made for Alexandrine and reworked for both Ingrid and Mary.
And here’s a beautiful press photograph of the rest of the parure. The necklace, earrings, brooch, ring, bracelet, and hair pins are all shown here. You can learn about the parure’s remarkable history over here!
For the exhibition opening, Mary wore a lovely pair of earrings set with light pink gemstones.
Here’s another view of the earrings, plus the ring Mary wore on her right hand for the occasion.
On Wednesday, Mary was joined by her younger children, twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, for a fun birthday engagement: a trip to the Copenhagen Zoo.
At the zoo, Mary and the kids participated in the first steps of creating a brand-new exhibit at the zoo: Mary’s Australian Garden. The garden is the final part of the zoo’s new habitat for Australian animals, providing new and expanded facilities for Australian species like the kookaburra, the rock wallaby, and the cockatoo. They planted a gum tree as part of the ceremonial visit.
During the visit, the royals also got up-close and personal with a few zoo residents, feeding a group of penguins.
Mary was dressed more casually (and warmly!) for this birthday engagement, but she did add a modern gold and pearl brooch to her tweed coat.
On Thursday, Crown Princess Mary was joined by Crown Prince Frederik, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent, and Princess Josephine at the National History Museum at Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerod.
There, they unveiled a new portrait of the crown princess, which was painted by the artist Jesus Herrera Martinez.
The portrait really is lovely. Mary’s jewelry in the painting is minimal: a diamond bracelet, her engagement and wedding rings, and an additional ring on her right hand.
For the portrait unveiling, Mary wore earrings and a brooch from one of her favorite Danish jewelry firms, Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen.
Princess Isabella, who is suddenly looking very much like her grandmother, Queen Margrethe II, also wore jewelry for the occasion. You’ll spot some simple gold necklaces worn with her dress. She also wore a pair of long gold statement earrings, though those are hidden a bit in her hair in this photo.
The museum at Frederiksborg has also mounted a special exhibition devoted to Crown Princess Mary, and the family toured it together during their visit.
The museum’s website explains that the exhibition “tells the personal story” of Crown Princess Mary. Like the exhibition at Koldinghus, this one also has a historical element, featuring the stories of other “princesses who have come to Denmark from abroad and Danish princesses who have become crown princesses abroad.” The common thread between all of the women featured, they explain, is that “they played a role in shaping their own eras, both socially and culturally.”
The exhibition also includes the fantastic light blue evening gown that Mary wore in the new series of gala portraits that were recently released to celebrate her birthday.
If you haven’t seen the portraits, you’re in for a treat. Be sure to head over to our article on the clothes and jewels worn for the portrait sitting to get all the details!
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